Explaining Death to your children

I read a status on facebook this morning about someone trying to figure out how to explain the death of someone close to them to their child. The post touched my heart and I decided to write about my own experiences hoping that in some small way it might help. I've always had a deep love for animals and my parents always allowed me to have many kinds of pets as a child. Whenever one would pass on it would always break my heart and cause a day to a week of mourning and depression. My mother had a talk with me about the natural order of things in this world, explaining to me as anyone would to a child, about how things are born, grow, and eventually die in the normal cycle of life. I think that this is the best way to handle this subject and I have done the same with my son. He hasn't reached the point yet in his life of a first mourning experience but when he does, he is already prepared for it by my talks and I will be there for him as any parent would. Everything revolves in a circle. From the atoms inside of a cell all the way up to the earth revolving around the sun and beyond. Everything is made up of simple energy which never dies. Death is just another part of the circle but the soul goes on in the form of energy. I still miss loved ones that have left me, but I know that they continue on in energy form and their memory lives forever in my mind and heart. Now your beliefs do not have to be the same as mine and of course you can explain it to your children in the way that you feel is best, but it is better to explain these things to them, for you can not stop this experience from happening to them, and when it does the best thing you can do is talk to them and show them love. When John Lennon left this earth it was extremely hard from me to bear as a young child. My mother showed her love by comforting me, talking to me as she always has, and baking me a cake to make me feel better. It is amazing how the smell of something cooking can lift the spirit of someone. I don't know if anything I've wrote here has helped any of you, but I hope that it does. All my love to you and your children my friends. Namaste.